July 28, 2009

I'm totally loving the new Pure Michigan ad campaign that's been running in major markets. I got chills the first (second, third, fourth, fifth...) time I watched them. Not only do they feature Michigan in the summer which is truly heaven on earth, but they include the music from "The Notebook" trailer which ensures that you tear ducts are turned on before the narrative even begins. (That calm, soothing voice is non other than Detroit native Tim Allen.)Here are some of my favorite Pure Michigan moments with some of my favorite people:

Walloon Lake, MI, where my ashes will one day be scattered. Watch out water table.

"Pi-High Til You Die." Which may turn out to be when you fall off the motorized rides outside Coral Gables in Saugatuck at 2am.

You can imagine my total shock that so far no one from the Pure Michigan ad campaign has inquired about using the picture above - or this footage from our Super Hero party on Gull Lake, MI last weekend. (The only thing that would make this even more Michigan is if Charles was smoking a Black & Mild instead of waving a giant sword.)

Holy crap. You have to love this BBC News article in which a father asks his 13 year old son to trade his iPod for a Walkman for one week's time. Engadget does a great job pulling out the most relevant slash hilarious quotes in their story entitled, "13 year old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact":

"It took me three days to
figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the
only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on
the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that
it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette."

"I
managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down
"rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured."

"When
playing, it is clearly evident that the music sounds significantly
different than when played on an MP3 player, mainly because of the
hissy backtrack and odd warbly noises on the Walkman."

A few weekends ago I actually discussed the days of the tape with some girlfriends - we reminisced about staying glued to Top 10 countdowns on radio stations in desperate attempts to record a new song for a mix tape. Which brings me to mix tapes. I love iTunes, I love iPods, but I miss receiving mix tapes and CD's - both of which seem to have fallen by the wayside. I'm going to start an advocacy movement to bring these back. Paging Blue State Digital...

July 26, 2009

This wedding march to Chris Brown's "Forever" has been making headlines this week - rivaling the famous Brubaker first dance from last summer. You only need to watch the first few minutes, turns out "Forever" is exceedingly long when you're watching awkward midwesterners dance down the aisle.

All I have to say is that I'm now feeling incredible pressure to incorporate a bad R&B or rap song in to my future wedding. Wherever the future Mr. Wilkins is, I hope he's already started thinking about this.

(Sidenote - the best part of the Brubaker's Wedding Dance was when I saw them interviewed on some talk show. The husband goes, "I was at my wedding, and I should have been enjoying every minute of it - instead I was in the bathroom alone stressing out and practicing "The Spank"...)

July 24, 2009

As many of you know, Ford is one of my clients. You may wonder what I do all day. And now you have your answer. I hang out outside Ford World Headquarters and pose on Ford vehicles. That's right, I'm a car model.

Tawny Kitaen would be jealous if my usually absurdly skinny calf didn't look like Tom Brady's for some odd reason in this photo. (Or not. But props to the Plaid Nation crew for snapping this beaut during their visit to Dearborn to pick up their sweet wrapped Ford Flex for their Plaid Nation 2009 Roadtrip.)

In all seriousness, one of the big social media programs I've been working on for Ford is an event that happened today in Chicago - the What Women Want Quality & Tech Event with BlogHer.com. We worked with BlogHer to bring 60 of their awesomest* bloggers to Chicago a day ahead of the big BlogHer Conference for an all day event at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant.

The day was jam packed - and the women got to rotate between a number of different hands on modules around Safety, Sustainability, Technology, and Manufacturing. Even though I helped organize the social media side of things and knew what was coming I was still impressed, as I was still seeing it all for the first time. Some highlights included:

One on One Access to Ford Insiders: Various modules were lead by the actual movers and shakers at Ford - from Amy Marentic (North American Car and Crossover Planning Manager), to Sheryl Connely (Global Trends & Futuring Manager), to Carrie Majeski (Sustainability, and 25 year veteran of Ford - at right.) It was truly amazing to hear these kick ass women speak about their passion and transfer their excitement to others.

Technology Demos: There were hands on demos set up for all Ford's latest and greatest smart technology - including MyKey, Active Park Assist, and Cross Traffic Alert. Check out this video below for a demo by one of Ford's steering engineers, along with blogger reactions.

Tour of Chicgao Assembly Plant: After receiving eye protection, yellow safety vests, and a small head set so we could hear our tour guide we were walked around the 2 million + square foot Chicago Assembly Plant where Ford manufactures Lincoln MKS and the new 2010 Ford Taurus. If you ever have a chance to do something like this, jump. It was really amazing to see how a car is put together - a total marriage of technology, machines, and humans. Also, very impressed with the extent to which Ford goes to maintain quality. If there is even the smallest quality issue on the line they shut it down until it's resolved so that no other vehicles are impacted. Additionally, if you call your dealer with a complaint it takes less than 24 hours for that to travel back to the plant where your vehicle was manufactured. I'll spare you the hideous picture of me in the plant tour get up, and instead give you this rad picture of cars in the air...

Test Drives: Getting the chance to test driving 2010 vehicles that haven't hit the road yet was also a big hit. Check out this great video of the BlogHer ladies test drive reactions:

What Women Want Brainstorm: The day ended with break out brainstorms so that Ford could listen to what the bloggers learned from their readers and their day, and take the insights back with them to Dearborn. Be on the look out for our What Women Want Vehicle Check List - which will summarize a lot of this great conversation.

#fordblogher: And finally, what would a blogger event be without a sweet hash tag and a constant stream of Twittering? As always seeing reactions, suggestions and questions in real time helped make the experience all the more interactive.

July 23, 2009

Just in case you've forgotten who I am - I'll do a quick recap of our fledgling relationship:

1)
January 2009 - Caps/Red Wings - OV Scores, Caps Win. We hit it off -
like honey bunches and oats. You enjoy my company more than the company
of your then boyfriend. Was it flirtation? A mutual love of hockey? The
innocence of one of us being attached? I was stymied.

2) May
2009 - After ensuing break-up with said boyfriend, we rendezvous for
appys and spirits. More chemistry. More larfs. More ball breaking. Slew
and Abby sabotage the courting and you press the eject button before I
can call in Mariano to seal the deal.

3) Later May 2009 - The
facebook debacle. How sketchy is this? Does you appreciate rich email
banter? The Response: blow off or genuine rain check? The question is
debated for days by the Robert H. Smith class of 2010. Everyone but
Scooter: Blow off. Scooter: Genuine rain check.

4) June 2009 - Crickets...

I
guess what I'm trying to say is that I heard there's a Bloggers
convention in Chi-town in late July. If true, you gonna be bringing
your A-game? The Nati is in for a weekend tilt with the
Cubbies and I'd like to pencil you in for Saturday. Cubbies, Old
Styles, cute farm girls. Could be a little bit glorious.

Also,
continue taking your time sending me your contact information. I'm down
in the Thick Stuff on loan and not back in DC till summer's end.

So, yes Scott. I will go on a date with you. And I'm making it public so that you can brag about your analytic superiority to your entire business school class, who seems deeply invested in this situation. Victory is sweet, is it not?

I thought I'd ease back in to it with a totally random, irrelevant post. So, with that I give you the two best text messages I've received in the last few days. Not only were these hilarious, but they gave me an excuse to use the under utilized screen shot feature on my iPhone. Thanks Steve.